Tamers Requiem: Book 0: Toys, Snowmen, and Digimon
by Crazyeight
Summary: Christmas is coming for the Tamers, and what a time it is. Everyone is busy, even a mouse. Despite this a few friends find some time to have some fun. However, danger arises threatening to ruin Christmas and make it...abominable.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Tamer's Requiem: Book 0: Toys, Snowmen, and Digimon

A Digimon Tamers story by Crazyeight

Chapter: 1

Takato smiled as a small flake floated down in front of him, gradually making its way to the ground. Breathing in deep, he closed The door to his family's bakery behind him, so as to prevent his mother from yelling at him about 'heating the outdoors' and hefted the two bags of bread in his hands. Taking a look around him, he took off down the crowded street. His eyes grew brighter as he took in the bright lights of the Christmas decorations. If there was anything that he loved more than digimon, his friends and family, it had to be the Christmas season. He couldn't quite explain it, but there was just something about the holiday that made everything seem so much more fun.

_Knowing Rika, she would probably tell me it's because I'm a 'little boy'._

Takato smiled at the thought of his red-haired friend's once-adversarial-now-playful way of telling him he needed to grow up. How serious she was about that depended on the situation, as during calmer times she tended to take his childishness in stride and, as he noticed from time to time, even grinned—a stark contrast to the more stressful times when they had been fighting bio-emergences that threatened to wreck their home city, Shinjuku barely two months ago.

_Hmmm… _mused Takato as he wove through the crowd, bee lining towards Shinuku's park. _I wonder what Rika thinks about Christmas? _In his mind's eye, Takato immediately came up with an image of Rika as a character from a western story he had heard about by the name of Scrooge, shouting "Bah! Humbug!" over anything that remotely smacked of good will and friendship. He immediately berated himself for it though, remembering that she was far from the highly aggressive girl who first came looking to fight just for sport.

_Well, I have Terriermon to thank for that,_ he chuckled, adjusting his grasp on his bags of bread. _That guy is always teasing someone. Even Ryo hasn't escaped unscathed, and he's the Legendary Tamer!_

_ "But all in good taste,"_ he remembered Terriermon saying after one of many scolding's by his friend and Tamer, Henry Wong.

_Well, I'm sure she likes it just fine,_ he thought to himself, rounding a corner. _I mean, what kind of person doesn't like Christmas? It's a fun, harmless holiday. Hmmm… Come to think of it, we haven't even been friends for a full year yet and there's not a whole lot that I know about her. Er, except that she really likes digimon?_

Takato frowned as he pondered the thought. He supposed that he was worrying a little too much about it as they hadn't been friends for very long, but he was the type of person who worried endlessly about every little detail. Even more so when friends—not to name anyone—tended towards the occasional outburst whenever he got a detail wrong or unknowingly stepped on their toes.

Although he never said it out loud, Takato sometimes felt being friends with Rika was more dangerous than the digimon they fought.

_At least it's worth it,_ he thought as he neared the park. Picking up a cheerful tune, Takato began whistling. He kept it up for a while, nodding cheerily to passer-byes until finally he came to a familiar stairway that led up a rough, well-grown hill that hid a small, concrete hut up at the top. His smile widening, Takato raced up the stairs, taking care to not trip lest he spill the contents of his bags all over the place. As he approached the hut, he heard some strange noises coming from the hut, and the sound of laughter. Raising an eyebrow, he slowed down just enough to get an idea about what he was hearing.

_Clapping?_ Takato picked up his pace until he was at the hut's entrance. Both of his eyebrows rose now as he saw a sight he hadn't quite expected. Sitting in a circle were Renamon, golden furred kitsune digimon, the previously mentioned Terriermon, and Guilmon, crimson-scaled reptile with a large, hazard symbol emblazoned on his chest. The latter two laughed noticeably while Renamon leaned against the stone wall, her gloved arms folded across her chest. In the middle of the trio was a small, giggling, cream furred, bouncing digimon with large, outstretched ears that Takato recognized oh-so well.

_Calumon…_

As though the thought had been an actual call of his name, the tiny digimon stopped in mid-bounce and his eyes lit up, spying Takato.

"Hellooo!" he shouted with glee. "Hey look everybody! It's Takato!"

"Hey Takatomon!" greeted Terriermon, waving his arm-like ear at him. "You just missed one heck of a party. Renamon sang and everything!"

"Uh…" Takato felt a little dumbstruck as he unlocked the cage door to the hut and entered. "Hang on. You'll have to run that by me again. Renamon _sang?"_

The vulpine digimon's eyes turned towards Takato with what he could only hope was an amused glint.

"I do sing," said Renamon in a tone that sounded surprisingly amused. "I just don't sing often. It's not…usually called for."

"Oh." Takato chuckled and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Well, I'm sorry I missed it. That would have been something to see.

"Uh-huh," nodded Guilmon exuberantly. "She has a very nice voice."

"Uh…" Takato blinked as Renamon's gaze turned towards Guilmon before finally looking back at him, an amused glint appearing in her eyes.

"Satisfied?"

"Hey, I never said that I didn't believe you. It just…came as a surprise, that's all." Feeling as though Renamon's piercing gaze was going to bore a hole in him, he chuckled anxiously and placed his bags on the ground. "Uh…a-anyway, I brought some food for you Guilmon. Um…the rest of you are welcome to share of course…"

"All right!" exclaimed Terriermon as both he, Calumon, and Guilmon dove forward, all but ripping into the bags—albeit Guilmon with a little more self-restraint than his two companions. Nonetheless, the bags, left to the tender mercy of the ravenous digimon, were swiftly on the fast track to being destroyed.

"Um…" Takato blinked. "I wonder if I should declare grocery bags as an endangered species?" he asked to no one in particular.

"At least Guilmon's eating habits aren't as bad as they used to be," observed Renamon, getting to her feet.

"Well, there's that." Takato smiled before a thought occurred to him. "Hey, is Rika here? I didn't see her when I came up."

"She is otherwise busy at the moment," replied Renamon matter-of-factly. "The holiday season has taken away much of her free time it seems."

"Huh." Takato furrowed his brow and tilted his head to one side. "Well, I guess I can see that, but I thought she had the holidays off just like everyone else."

"I believe she counts her free time a little differently," said Renamon, a small, barely-visible smile appearing on her face. "There are times where she wants to be left alone, and the Christmas season does not allow for that as much as she would like since school ended."

"Ah. Yeah." Takato bobbed his head in understanding. "Catching up with all the homework and tests we missed fighting the D-Reaper wasn't exactly easy. But I'm sure that she'll be fine. Rika's always good at pulling off the impossible."

Renamon's smile became more visible. "I'm sure if she was here, she would thank you for that sentiment."

"Or box your ears for them," pointed out Terriermon just before he shoved another piece of bread into his mouth. Takato scowled at the rabbit-dog digimon.

"Hey!"

"Momentai! No need to get defensive, Takatomon. I'm just kidding, that's all. Sheesh. The two of you need to lighten up."

"Do you want anything, Renamon?" asked Guilmon in-between mouthfuls, looking up at her. The vulpine digimon shook her head.

"No thank you. I had something earlier, but thank you for the offer. Now, I'm afraid I must go." Bowing slightly towards the digimon and Takato, Renamon faded from view.

"Man," breathed Takato as she departed. "I don't think I'll ever get used to how she does that."

"You're telling me," said Terriermon as he audibly swallowed his food. "I come down here to hang out with Guilmon here, and the next thing I know she shows up, saying that Rika kicked her out because she was wrapping presents."

"Do you think Rika got Renamon a present?" asked Calumon, looking up from his piece of Guilmon Bread.

"Why else would she do that? Henry did the same to me, so I _know_ he got me something." Terriermon tapped his paw against his lips. "I wonder if I can find where he's going to hide it. He's surprisingly good at being sneaky."

"What did you get me, Takato?" asked Guilmon, looking at his Tamer with wide, expectant eyes. Takato laughed and rubbed his partner's head.

"Sorry, boy. But if I told you, then it wouldn't be a secret."

"Yeah," chimed in Terriermon, hopping onto Takato's shoulder. "That's how Christmas works. Remember what I told you?"

"Yeah…" Guilmon lowered his head and pouted. "But I still wish I knew what I was getting. Then I could have dreams about it. My dreams are always boring."

Takato gave his partner a sympathetic look. "Tell you what. On Christmas Eve, I'll see if you and me can bake a cake. Just something we can do together."

Guilmon's eyes seemed to light up at that. "Yeah? A nice, big cake?"

"Sure." Takato flashed a wide smile and spread his hands out. "The biggest you've ever laid eyes on."

"Easy there, Takato," said Terriermon worriedly. "You don't want to get his hopes up…"

"Huh? Why not? My parents live at a bakery after all."

"And you've gone this long without cluing in on his enormous eating habits? Just how _did_ you survive this long without going bankrupt?"

"Point taken," frowned Takato.

"Hey, Takato," urged Guilmon, tugging at his partner's sleeves. "Can we make it…a Guilmon cake?"

Takato laughed. "Anything for you, buddy."

"Takato…" warned Terriermon.

"Oh." Takato laughed. "Right."

**…**

Takato trudged home, humming a Christmas tune quietly to himself while next to him Guilmon and Calumon ogled the shops and bright lights. The smell of pastries was thick in the air, and both Tamer and digimon enjoyed them to their fullest. Christmas was, without a doubt, the most wonderful time of the year.

_Hanging out with my best friend, who is also literally a dream come true, and to get him back just in time for Christmas…what more could I ask for?_

As per usual, whenever Takato chose to ask the universe a question, it was quick to provide him with an answer.

Upon approaching the main entrance to his families bakery, the door slid open and out walked a familiar girl with brown hair and amber eyes. Takato almost immediately became rigid in surprise, but he was quick to calm himself down.

At least whatever passed for calm as far as he was concerned.

"Jeri!" exclaimed Calumon happily expanding his wings and jumping off Guilmon's head towards the girl. She caught him in her arms and brought him close to her coat.

"Hey guys," she replied as Calumon snuggled into her grasp.

"H-Hey Jeri," Takato laughed, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. Inwardly he felt his heart tremble as his face inexplicably began to feel warm.

"Hi Jeri," greeted Guilmon cheerfully, waving a claw at her. "What are you doing here? I thought Takato said that you were going with your parents to visit your grandmother."

Jeri smiled at the pair. "I am, but I wanted to run a few errands before we left. Just so you know," Jeri raised a finger to her lips and winked at Takato. _"Mrs. Claus_ left you two presents."

"Aw, thanks Jeri," replied Takato, feeling a little bit calmer now. "You didn't have to…"

Jeri giggled.

"It's the season for giving Takato. And I wanted to leave something for everyone. I just…" Jeri cast her eyes downwards and rubbed the toe of her shoe into the ground. "…wanted to show everyone how happy I am to have them as friends."

"Jeri…" Takato now began to feel a little flustered and ashamed. He hadn't gotten her anything.

The girl smiled up at him. "Just remember, you two can't open yours until I get back. I want to see your reactions when you see what I got you."

"Uh…" Takato blinked. "…okay?"

With another giggle, Jeri nodded. "Okay. Well, I'd better get going. My family's going to be leaving soon." She looked down at Calumon. "Would you like to come with me?"  
"You bet!" exclaimed Calumon, his eyes widening even further—a surprising feat for the tiny In-training level digimon.

"Ah…soon?" Takato mentally checked the time before taking a look at the bags his friend was carrying. "Um...how soon? Do you need me to deliver the rest for you?"

Jeri shook her head, still smiling.

"No thanks Takato. I…" Jeri suddenly blushed a little as she continued. "…I saved the best for last."

"Huh-wha…?"

Jeri made no sign that she heard Takato's questioning reply or not, as she quickly spun around and began to make her way through the Christmas crowd, leaving the boy just standing there with one hand hanging in the air and his mouth likewise dropped open in utter surprise. Guilmon looked up at him before finally nuzzling him.

"Takato? Are you all right?"

"Huh? Wha…? Ah! G-Guilmon? Did…did you just hear what she said?"

"That she saved the best for last," replied Guilmon. "So that must mean it's a really good present, right?"

"I…" Takato looked down at Guilmon and then in the direction Jeri left, looking completely and hopelessly lost. "…I…ah…"

The bakery's door opened once more, and within short order the voice of his mother, Mie Matsuki filled the air.

"If you're done standing in front of the main entrance, we could use you in the back to help make more bread. Unless you think blocking customers is going to help…"

Takato's shoulders slumped as he groaned. "…I give up…"

**…**

Takato lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling in deep thought while below him, Guilmon looked through a pile of manga, though in this case focusing on the pictures while trying to decipher what was going on. Takato sighed mentally. _Girls._ He just didn't understand them.

_I wonder if there's some book out there that can explain them to me. Oh well… Jeri did get me thinking though. I haven't thought about getting anyone any Christmas presents. I mean, I got everyone holiday cards, but... I don't know. Shouldn't this year be a little extra special?_

This year was different from most. After all, they were Tamers and they were all friends. That should count for something.

_It's a little bit late though,_ he mused. _Jeri, Kazu and Kenta have both gone off to visit their families; Ryo's…uh…wherever he lives._ Takato frowned, not liking that but feeling helpless to immediately remedy the situation. _Henry's going to be leaving to visit his grandparents soon. Impmon…I wonder if he and his partners will still be home. He doesn't exactly tell anyone what his plans are. Hmmm…_

Takato closed his eyes in thought. He wanted to do something for his friends and he wanted to have a good time with them before they all went their separate ways. A little late for most of them, but there was no helping that right now.

_Hmmm…what to get them. I can give something to Kazu, Kenta, and Jeri when they get back. Kazu and Kenta are pretty easy. I know Kenta's had his eye on that Digimon Heroes poster for a while now, and Kazu's always going on about that Machinedramon card. Henry should be pretty easy too, since he loves games and computers. Uh…_ Takato's mind paused for a moment._ Actually, do I have the money for that?_

Getting up from his bed, he climbed down and made his way over to his desk, opening up a jar that had all of his currently saved and hard-earned yen. As he counted out bills and coins, he continued to create a list in his mind.

_Jeri's going to be a little tricky. Um… Maybe some flowers? No, she might not like that and…er…she might take them the wrong way._ Takato blushed lightly as he began to sort through his savings at a slightly faster rate. _I'll work something out. And Rika…um…Rika…_

Takato paused in his siftings. Just as he had earlier, he came up against a wall about what he knew about the red-headed Tamer. Digimon cards seemed too predictable, and at the same time, a small part of him wondered if he should even try. Due to the economic differences between them, would he even be able to get her something she could like? This last thought he brushed aside with little effort, as he had come to know that at least when it came to this, she would recognize a gift from the heart. The question though was…what?

Takato scratched his head.

_ I am such a dope,_ he berated himself, turning towards the calendar. _So close to Christmas too. Am I even going to have enough time? I don't even know what kind of things she likes._

As the wheels in his mind turned, a thought occurred to him. Why not have her show him the sort of things she liked?

Getting up from his chair, he headed towards the door.

"Be right back, Guilmon."

**…**

Rika sipped from a cup of tea as she leaned against the doorframe of her room, wrapped in a comforter to keep warm. Lowering the cup, she looked up at the sky. It was swiftly becoming dark and already the first stars were beginning to appear. She smiled at them and took another sip from her tea.

"Quiet night," noted the voice of Renamon as she materialized next to the girl. Rika nodded.

"Can't have a Wild One rampaging every night," she replied. "But I'm not complaining. This season can get a bit hectic sometimes without some digimon wanting to take over the world."

"From what I have seen, I can agree with you," replied Renamon with a nearly invisible smile on her face. "Still, I suppose it's not without its charms."

"Never said there wasn't, Renamon." Rika glanced at her partner. "By the way, don't even think about looking for the present I got you. That's one gift that's going to stay unopened until Christmas no matter how hard you look."

"Rika, do you believe that I would do that?"

"I don't know," grinned Rika. "This is your first Christmas, right?"

"Actually," began Renamon, "we celebrate Christmas in the digital world as well."

"What?" Rika raised an elegant eyebrow in surprise. "That's news."

"Why so surprised?" asked Renamon, taking a seat next to the girl. "We digimon are created from human data and dreams."

"It's just…not something I expected. At least," Rika gave an awed smile to the vixen, "I wouldn't expect _you_ to celebrate Christmas in the digital world."

"Good to know that I can still surprise you," replied Renamon, her azure eyes sparkling teasingly. Rika chuckled and tapped her fingers against her teacup.

"I'm glad you're here, Renamon," she said after a second.

"As am I."

"You know, as much as I hate to admit it, I didn't think that you and the others would make it back after you were taken away. It looked like the end then, _especially_ after _Yamaki_ sealed up the portal we needed to bring you back." Rika frowned and looked down at her teacup. "Great. And I promised myself I wouldn't stay angry at them."

Renamon regarded her partner with a curious look. "A little early to have New Year's Resolutions, isn't it?"

"Did Grandma tell you about that?" Rika _hmmphed_ and pulled the comforter closer around herself. "Well, I made mine early. I don't care to be restricted by dates and stuff, especially if I want to change. Why wait?"

"Why indeed?" replied Renamon, a soft smile once again gracing her features.

"Exactly. That's why I'm taking your being here now as an early Christmas present." Rika chuckled. "Good thing Takato drew him those claws he has. Best present Guilmon ever gave me and he probably didn't even know what Christmas was."

"He does now. Terriermon and I filled him in about the digital world's version today." Renamon tilted her head, choosing her next words carefully. "I…sang."

Rika pulled the comforter up to her mouth to muffle her laughter.

"Now _that's_ a sight I would have liked to see. The last time you sang, we were Sakuyamon."

"All you have to do is ask," said Renamon, causing Rika's eyes to rise. After a moment, her lips curved upwards.

"I'll have to take you up on that sometime."

The pair allowed a moment of silence to hang between them, enjoying the sun's final moments as it sunk beneath the distant horizon. After several minutes had passed, the sound of a phone ringing from inside the house broke the silence.

"Rika!" came the voice of Seiko Hata, the girl's grandmother. "Phone for you! It's Takato!"

Rika heaved a sigh and parted her comforter.

"Great," she said, standing up. "I'll bet he's got some story about how he's lost the present he got from Jeri or something. Or maybe lost the present he got for her."

"Don't you think you're not giving him enough credit?" asked Renamon. "He might just want to talk to you and wish you a merry Christmas."

"I wouldn't put it past him," she replied, heading off.

"Which one?" asked Renamon teasingly. Rika smiled, but chose not to answer. Entering the house, she took the phone with a quick thank you and placed it against her ear.

"Hello?"

_"Hey, Rika!"_ came the familiar voice of Takato on the other end. Rika at once wanted to resist the urge to roll her eyes and smile. The boy's voice, despite always being so cheerful that it practically invited a smile always sounded far too happy for its own good.

"That's me, what's up? Did you need something?"

_"Uh…a-actually…I was…ah…just wondering… Um…I know this is on short notice and everything…"_

Rika shook her head, the corners of her lips tugging into a smile. She was rapidly losing the battle. "Are you going to get to the point anytime soon?" she asked, placing one hand against her hip. In a last ditch effort to gain something of a victory, she settled on a smirk. "You know I don't bite."

There was dead silence on the phone for a moment, causing Rika's smirk to drop.

"Takato?"

_"Huh? Ah! Yeah. I was wondering if you wanted to do anything tonight! You know…Christmas shopp…er, I mean, um…you know, just hang out and have fun. Visit some shrines…you know. Fun stuff."_

Rika raised an eyebrow, wondering what was going through Takato's mind._ He knows that just about everyone's going to be gone so…what is he thinking?_

"Um…sure. Yeah. Is there any place you want to meet?"

Rika nodded as Takato named off a place. "All right. I'll be there soon. Okay. Bye."

With that, Rika hung up the phone, a contemplative look on her face. Renamon materialized next to her.

"Are you going out?" she asked.

"Hm? Yeah, it looks like it." Rika pressed her lips together, furrowing her brow. Renamon noticed it and tilted her head to one side.

"Is something the matter?"

"I'm not sure… But…" Rika shook her head slightly. "…I think Gogglehead just asked me out on a date."

* * *

A/N: So I started doing some writing and then I had a thought, since Christmas is coming up, why not add another Christmas story to the TR series lineup? Only this time with a bit more of a plot behind it. Elements to this story have been touched on in previous TR books, so I decided to take it back a few years as a prequel for the holidays, just for a little bit of lightheartedness. The Tamers are all twelve again. Noriko isn't in the picture, Lumemon is still Lucemon and in the digital world. Ayaka and Miki aren't Tamers yet and their respective partners haven't even appeared. Some things I'm going to be pulling from the Digimon Tamers Christmas songs, invoking Santamon (though whether or not he appears has yet to be determined) and Renamon singing (yes, believe it or not, she _did _sing) while other things are going to pulled from ideas I've had kicking around for a while now, but never found the time to have an outlet for. The cast is going to be small this time around, though we might see small bits about what the others are up to as time and plot permit. There will be some Rukatoness, but due to operating within the fanon established in the following books, it's not going to go very far.

At any rate, I hope you enjoy this latest fic, and this, as well as 'Return of Shadows', will be updated as time allows. 'Till next time. :P

-Crazyeight

* * *

8


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Tamer's Requiem, Book 0: Toys, Snowmen, and Digimon.

Chapter: 2

Impmon bounced from rooftop to rooftop before finally coming to a landing at the place he was searching for. Turning around, his gaze fell upon the Christmas tree standing in the middle of the park, lights draped all over its branches, illuminating the cold darkness that surrounded it. Impmon wrapped his hands around himself and shivered slightly. The comforting glow of the oversized Christmas tree—easily larger than the one his partners parents had in their house—did little to warm him.

_This human winter thing is kinda annoying,_ he grimaced._ Who in their right minds would design a world where it's completely uncomfortable for half the year?_

Impmon did not bother to reflect on the irony of his thoughts. His birth world was hardly a shining example of creature comforts itself, and it was artificial in nature; a byproduct of the communication network created by the humans that swarmed about in the streets below.

_Okay…_ Impmon scanned the market area below, taking in the vast number of stores displaying their goods. Reaching up into his scarf, Impmon took out a wad of yen and began to count it. _Let's see… one…two…three…um… Three thousand yen. Good thing Ai and Mako have been helping to teach me how to read…and that I found this stuff just sitting on the kitchen table. This is going to help me find some presents for my partners. _

"All right." Impmon replaced the money inside his scarf, wedging it against his neck and leapt down to the streets below, startling some passersby. Looking up at them, Impmon scowled. "What're you lookin' at? I'm just one of Santa's little helpers lookin' to bring some Christmas cheer to a couple little kids."

With that, the diminutive dimon sauntered off, ignoring the stares that he was drawing from the initial crowd. Fortunately, he was small enough where he could disappear into the larger group of humans and not be noticed…at least for as long as he could go without being accidently kicked or tripped over. He wove in and out between the storm of feet until he came to the first open store. The doors parted for him and he stepped inside. Warm air greeted him, and he sighed in contentment.

_Ahhh…_ He stood there for a moment, basking in the heat as it washed over him._ Nothin' finer in my humble opinion. _Tightening his hands into fists, he took on an emboldened, determined gaze and gazed around the store. As he hoped, he was in a toy store, and what a store it was. Wall to wall with brightly colored robots, toy weapons, dolls…everything that a little kid could ever want.

_Although, I don't see why they would want this stuff,_ thought Impmon. _I have enough fun as it is with my Badda Boom attack, and there's no way that those dresses Ai keeps trying to stuff me into are fun. Those things are way too tight at the waist, and they make my tail hurt. Plus the stupid things keep tearing and…_ Impmon shuddered._ They're all in pink._

For the first time, as much as he hated to admit it, he could sympathize with Terriermon. The 'Princess Pretty Pants' treatment that the long eared rabbit-dog always went on about was not something to be taken lightly. Impmon had, unfortunately, come to learn that the hard way.

_Humans…_ he shuddered. Promptly pushing the disturbing memories to the back of his mind, he refocused on his reason for being here. Striding forward, he began to look at the aisles of toys, trying to decide which ones would be the most fun for his partners.

_Ai likes toy bears, and Mako has been going on about this motorcycle thing he saw on TV recently. Kamen-somethin' or other I think he said it was called._ Tapping his chin, Impmon allowed a small, prideful smile to grace his features. Mako had become increasingly obsessed with motorcycles ever since all the digimon returned from the digital world. Of course, a lot of that had to do with the fact that he had arrived back home, riding Behemoth, the bike belonging to his Mega form, Beelzemon.

_This is a big place,_ he scowled._ I could use some direction…_

Glancing around, Impmon found a man wearing a bright red vest over a professional-looking button-up shirt directing a blonde-haired woman.

_Maybe that guy can help…_

Impmon strode over to the pair and waited until the woman had left, thanking the man for his help, before speaking.

"Hey bub," he called out, placing his hands on his hips. "I don't suppose you could lend a guy a hand trackin' down some Christmas toys, could ya?"

"Huh?" The man looked around him, confused for a minute. Impmon let out a small, frustrated groan and tapped his foot impatiently.

"Down here, pal." For added emphasis, he ignited the tip of his finger. The flicker of the light caught the man's attention, and he quickly looked down to find Impmon staring up at him with an annoyed expression on his face, calmly extinguishing the flame. "Okay. So like I was sayin'…"

A look of complete and utter terror fell over the man's and he quickly began to back away. Impmon raised his eyebrows in surprise and took a step forward, holding his hands out in a placating manner.

"Hey, c'mon pal. I didn't mean to frighten ya, I just wanted to…"

Letting loose a loud shout, the man spun and raced away, leaving Impmon staring after him incredulously. After a moment, Impmon growled and shook his fist after the retreating human.

"Hey! Is that any way to treat a customer during the Christmas season? Way to show the Christmas spirit! Ba-boom!" Crossing his arms over his chest, Impmon pouted.

_I guess I went a little overboard,_ he admitted to himself._ Lighting that fire always made everyone scream back when I was pulling pranks in the park. Let's face it, that's not the best way to get someone to help you, even if you had a good-looking mug like I do._

"Whatever," he mumbled. "Guess I'll have to do it myself."

Marching down into the nearest aisle, Impmon looked up at the stacks of toys. As he eyed them, his gaze fell upon one that instantly drew his attention. It was a small, ray-gun like device, brightly colored with red and blue tapering and a ridiculous, missile-like appearance to its barrel tip. Impmon grinned as he recognized the toy.

_Mako's favorite… And it helped me wipe the floor with D-Reaper a couple months ago._ His expression fell a little as he remembered the battle where the toy that had turned into his powerful Death-Slinger cannon, granting him the power of his Blast Mode, had been destroyed. _Mako told me that he didn't care that I broke it out there, but I know him. I know he'll be thrilled if I got him a new one to make up for it._

The only problem was, however, the toy was a little too high off the ground for him to reach. Not that that was a problem for him, as he was used to getting things that were always outside of his reach, but it was a matter of how. And there weren't many places where he could easily get a handhold to climb without breaking something.

_We'll just have to change that…_

A flash of light enveloped Impmon's body, followed by an intense surge of power as a shell of data materialized out of thin air. The data sphere grew and shattered, revealing a creature that was thin and lankly, decked out in black leather and two shotguns, one strapped to his leg while the other was holstered over his shoulder. Three blood-red eyes stared out from behind a bird-like mask. Reaching out with a metal-clawed hand, he picked up the toy gun.

"Um…" began a voice from off to the side. "E-Excuse…Excuse me s-sir…"

Beelzemon glanced to his left to see a short, balding man standing at the end of the aisle, adjusting a thickly rimmed set of glasses and shaking badly. "Can…can I help you with something?"

"Yeah," replied Beelzemon, nodding and allowing a fanged grin to spread across his face. "I'm interested in buyin' this thing for one of my partners."

He held up the toy gun for emphasis. No sooner than he did so, a strange, violet glow materialized around the box. The man gave a surprised, half-squeal of fright as his legs trembled even more violently than before.

"What the…?" began Beelzemon, dropping the toy in surprise. As it clattered upon the ground, the glow around the toy intensified and the box split open. The toy began to grow and warp. Arms and legs sprung into existence as it took on a more humanoid form. Finally, the glow began to die down, revealing the toy gun for everyone in the store to see. Gone were the rather playful colors, and the plastic was replaced by a cold, metallic sheen. An angry-looking face stood prominently on the missile-like barrel as it brought itself to bear on the Demon Lord. Beelzemon backed up warily, but he remained in the toy's shadow as it towered over him, its top nearly touching the ceiling.

_What the…?_ he began as all three of his eyes widened in shock, completely stunned by what he was seeing. _Did this thing just _digivolve?

"Hey…" he began, raising his claws in a warding gesture. "What's going on?"

The toy gun rose one massive foot and brought it down hard, causing tile to split and crack. A series of screams erupted from the store, one of which came most prominently from the balding man behind the toy as his legs buckled and collapsed beneath him. Beelzemon's eyes fell on him, already moving towards him.

The sight of a laser surging towards him caused his eyes to twitch back towards the toy, and the Demon Lord swore profusely.

**…**

"You shouldn't have come with me, Terriermon," began a boy with dark hair and a slightly dark complexion as he rocked back on his heels. On top of the boy's head, a familiar, long eared, cream and green fur colored digimon shifted and looked down with an apologetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry that people are staring at you, Henry. But you really need to learn how to momentai."

"That's not what I mean," sighed Henry, cursing himself for being so softhearted for his partner.

_But then, I can't say that I blame him. Suzie kept trying to stuff him and Lopmon in that Santa suit. It's not as bad as the 'Princess Pretty Pants' treatment, but it certainly doesn't look comfortable._

"Lighten up, Henry," replied Terriermon, glancing around him. "No one's even paying attention to you anyway. They're used to weirder sights by now. And by weirder, I mean digimon destroying a city block or eating a restaurant's food supplies. I'm not doing either now am I?"

"Even so, I'd rather that you not be seen at all." Henry frowned. "And your hat isn't helping either."

"What?" Terriermon scowled and reached up to his head with his tiny little paws towards the long red, Santa hat he wore. "What's wrong with my hat? I'll have you know that it's part of my new marketing image! If Guilmon can sell bread made in his ugly image, then I can help spread the Christmas cheer as Santa's Little Helper! Trust me, I'm _made_ for the look!"

"Too bad you don't act like it half the time," muttered Henry under his breath.

"What'd you say?"

Henry chuckled and tapped his partner on the head. "With ears that big, I'm amazed that you can't hear what I just said. Selective listening?"

"Only when it comes to you, Henry," giggled Terriermon.

"Well, just try not to draw too much attention okay? The last thing we need is for the wrong kind of people to hear that you're back."

"Oh, c'mon, Henry!" exclaimed Terriermon, causing the half-Chinese Tamer to cringe. "Who the heck is going to notice me during Christmas time?"

Henry glanced around just in time to see a trio of high school girls pointing in his direction and giggling. Feeling a blush cross his face, he quickly looked away and shoved his hands in his coat's pockets.

_Why did Takato make this the meeting place?_ he wondered ruefully. _There are too many people. Terriermon could get caught…_

"Excuse me."

Setting his teeth on edge, Henry turned to see the three girls that he had seen earlier standing in front of him. The lead one was a tall girl with thick, dark-brown hair while the other two behind her were blond and black, the former with curls while the latter's fell down her back in one, almost water-fall-like stream. They were all very pretty and Henry felt more than a little bit uncomfortable beneath their scrutinizing gaze.

"Um…yeah? Can I help you?"

"You're one of those Tamers right?" asked the lead girl, pointing first at him and then at the rabbit-dog sitting on top of his head. "And that's your digimon, right?"

"Uh…" Henry hesitated. "…Actually…"

"You better believe that I'm a digimon," crowed Terriermon triumphantly, tossing the puffy, ball-end of his hat over his shoulder in what could only be loosely called a suave move. The two girls behind the lead one giggled at the act, while the lead merely smiled. "And this guy," Terriermon pointed down at Henry, "is my partner, Henry. He's a bit of a stiff neck though."

"Terriermon…" began Henry in a strained tone, his face flaming.

"What? They're only asking some questions. No harm done, right? You need to relax more and bathe in your coolness factor… Or at least develop one. You'll never be a hit with the ladies with that kind of attitude."

Henry desperately wanted to palm his face in exasperation. Or better yet, just melt into a puddle like the snow beneath his feet. At least then he wouldn't be forced to live with the attention that he was getting right now.

The girl gave Henry a sympathetic smile and tilted her head to one side. "Is this little guy always giving you a hard time?"

Henry heaved a heavy sigh. "You have no idea…"

"What? Momentai, Henry!"

The girl raised a questioning eyebrow. "Momentai?"

"It means 'take it easy'," replied Terriermon proudly. "I keep telling Henry that, but he doesn't have any common sense. He's always so serious and busy he never thinks to relax once in a while."

"Saving the world is a tough business," spoke up one of the other girls, the one with flowing black hair. The lead girl raised the purse she was carrying and dug around into it.

"Don't worry. Since it looks like you're waiting for someone, we won't keep you. Um…I…_we…_were just wondering…" The girl hesitated, seemed to blush for a moment before pulling her blond-haired friend from behind her and shoving her to the forefront. "Ayumi's always wanted the autograph of one of the Tamers who helped save the world."

"Wha…?" The girl gave her friend a baffled look. "Nakako! What are you…?"

"So we were kind of wondering," Nakako continued, running over her friends words without so much as slowing down, "if you could…um…sign this."

Nakako pulled out a pen and a pad of paper, holding it out in front of Henry, while he stood there, blinking in surprise. Henry, stunned, wordlessly took the pad and pen.

"Um…what…what do you want me to write?" he asked. Nakako smiled.

"How about…_always momentai?"_

Terriermon grinned. "A girl after my own heart…"

Henry nodded and wrote the words, signing his own name beneath them before handing the pad and pen back to the girl. Nakako accepted it.

"Thanks," she said, still smiling at him. "Nice to meet you, Henry. Merry Christmas."

"M-Merry Christmas," stumbled out Henry as the three girls took their leave. Henry watched them go for a moment, Nakako taking a moment to look over her shoulder and wave at him before disappearing into the crowd. Henry sighed, suddenly feeling very exhausted.

"Terriermon…" he began in a low voice.

The rabbit-dog digimon giggled. "Momentai, Henry. Mo-men-tai."

"Did I miss something?" asked a familiar voice from off to the side. Henry turned and found Takato and Guilmon approaching him, the latter dressed up in winter clothing complete with a green, festive looking hat with white pattern trees.

"Hi," greeted Guilmon, his voice muffled by a scarf wrapped around his head. Both Henry and Terriermon looked at him for a moment before turning a curious gaze over to Takato.

"Do I even want to know?" asked Terriermon with a raised eyebrow. Takato chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well…it was the best way that I could think of to get Guilmon around the city without being noticed…"

"His tail is noticeable," observed Terriermon pointedly. "Takato…I think you've been watching the TV show too much. You need a hobby."

"Uh… Last I checked, I did have a hobby…"

"How about a different one other than arguing about how good the final episode of Digimon 02 was."

"Terriermon…" Henry sighed and shook his head.

"So, who were those three girls?" asked Guilmon, his head craning to look down the street. "They looked really pretty. Are they friends of yours?"

"Phht!" Terriermon scoffed. "Do you think Henry here would bother to hang out with girls with how busy he makes himself?"

"Uh…" began Takato, blinking.

"I mean," continued Terriermon, "here I was, trying to hook him up. Do you think I'm wearing this hat for nothing? This season is the best time short of Valentine's Day and White Day to pick up girls, but Henry would rather just study and play around with his computer all day. So I made it my mission to attract attention from the opposite sex and _hopefully_ get him thinking about something other than zeroes and ones." Terriermon crossed his arms and pouted. "The problem is he ignores all the pictures of bikini girls I download for him. And not only that, he _deletes_ them!"

Henry groaned and resisted the urge to massage his forehead. "Terriermon…"_ I really shouldn't have shown him how to use the Internet…_

"Uh…" Takato let out another nervous chuckle. "Well, they say it's the thought that counts, Henry."

"Let's…change the subject," breathed Henry in exasperation. "Did Rika say when she was going to be here?"

"Um…" Takato tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Actually, now that you mention it, she didn't. I told her when I was going to be here, and I guess I just took it for granted that she would show up around then too." Takato smiled. "I'm sure she'll be along though. So how are things going for you…outside of Terriermon causing problems?"

"Hey!" exclaimed Terriermon indignantly. "I'm only trying to help! Henry won't make any moves on his own!"

"Mmm… Mostly I've been busy with studying," replied Henry, ignoring his trouble-making partner.

"And not having a personal life," chided Terriermon. Again he went ignored.

"My dad's been helping out a lot, even though he worries about my getting involved with the digital world again. But since he knows that he can't stop me, he's lent me some of his old materials to start with." Henry sighed again and shook his head. "It's a good thing that I had a head start on computer programming. Even so, there's a lot that still goes over my head. I have to get better at mathematics in order to understand half of what I'm looking at."

"Um… Oookay…"

"Jeez, Takato," quipped Terriermon with a smirk. "He hasn't even rambled off any numbers and already you look lost."

"Hey!"

"I don't get it," muffled Guilmon through his scarf. "Why does Henry need numbers? I thought that the digital world was all about dreams and wishes stuff like that. Seems pretty simple to me."

"It has to do with Quantum Mechanics, Guilmon," replied Henry. "The digital world can be taken as the largest manifestation of those laws. One of the basic ideas is that an observed experiment will end up going closer to what the prediction models suggest compared to experiments that aren't being observed."

Guilmon tilted his head to one side. "So…if I can watch bread being baked, it won't get burned?"

From up on Henry's head, Terriermon blinked, stunned. "Did…Did Guilmon just understand what you were saying?"

"Well…I didn't 'ramble off' like you said, and I kept it simple. Of course, I don't think that it's the best way to explain what I just said. Like I said, I've still got a lot of material to cover and I'm really not the best person to explain it…"

"Well it still sort of makes sense to me," said Takato with a smile. "I mean, the digital world is basically made of everyone's dreams, right?"

"We don't really understand much of anything about the digital world," pointed out Henry. "But Shibumi said that was close when we met him in that library. The digignomes help out a lot in that, but _how_ they do it is something of a mystery…"

"…And just when I thought you guys were on a date or something, I overhear this." Rika Nonaka stepped forward, a smirk on her face as she looked her two friends over.

"Rika!" greeted Takato. "Hey! Glad you could…wait." Takato tilted his head to one side in confusion. "Date?"

"She's just joking," chuckled Henry. "Remember the last time she said something like that?"

"I don't," piped in Terriermon. "And I know I would have heard something about it too. Have you been holding back on me, Henry? Is there something you should tell me, because if so I'll apologize for trying to get girls to talk to you."

"It was when you and the others were still in the digital world," replied Henry. "And no, I haven't been holding anything back on you. You really shouldn't jump to conclusions."

"Hey," asked Takato, looking around. "Where's Renamon?"

"Keeping out of sight," replied Rika before indicating Guilmon and Terriermon. "Are you sure it's a good idea to let these two out? Not that I'd credit _you,_ Gogglehead with an abundance of brains…"

"Terriermon insisted," answered Henry. Takato looked over at Guilmon with a wide smile.

"I just wanted to bring Guilmon so he could experience his first Christmas. There's no harm in that, right?"

"There is when you remember that we're supposed to be keeping a low profile. No one's supposed to know that our partners are back except Hypnos, remember? It could cause problems." Rika turned towards Henry with a critical gaze. _"You_ said so yourself when they came back, remember?"

"I know, but…"

"Hey," giggled Terriermon, tumbling forward so that his body briefly blocked Henry's mouth, preventing him from talking. "Don't get mad at Henry. Do you think he could keep someone like me at home? Besides, you let Renamon out this morning."

"She can keep out of sight. And I suppose you could at least pretend to be a stuffed animal." She glanced over at Guilmon, not looking impressed by his 'disguise'. _"Cute_, Guilmon," she said, her tone clashing with the meaning of her choice of words.

Guilmon laughed. "Why, thank you."

"No problem." She turned towards Takato, folding her arms over her chest. "So what's the excuse here? Your 'guy in a suit story' is wearing winter clothes for realism?"

"Hey!" Takato scowled and crossed his arms. "It _is_ cold you know."

Henry sighed. It looked like once again he was going to have to play peacemaker between the two.

_At least this time she isn't trying to kill Guilmon._

"Easy you guys," he said in a placating manner. "Look, why don't we try and find a place to get out of the cold? It'll beat just standing out here in the cold." He turned to Takato. "Any ideas where we should go?"

"Yeah, Takatomon," said Terriermon, climbing back up to his partner's shoulder. "You were the one who asked us out here."

"Hold on," interrupted Rika, pointing at the pair. "He asked you guys out here too?"

"Uh…yeah," replied Terriermon, tilting his head quizzically. "Why? What's up?"

Rika glanced at Takato, a slightly annoyed look on her face. "Nothing."

"What? Did Takato not mention that we were coming?" Terriermon's eyes lit up. "You didn't think that he…"

The long-eared digimon's words were cut off as Henry clamped his hands over his mouth.

"Not now, Terriermon."

"Sorry, Rika," apologized Takato, rubbing the back of his head, all the while his face a mixture of confusion and worry. "I thought I'd give Henry a call after we were done talking…"

"Takato," interceded Rika, shrugging off his comments. "It's no big deal. Why are you suddenly acting as if I'm going to put coal in your stocking? I did want to see Henry before he took off for the holidays anyway. Just take Terriermon's advice and momentai already."

As one, Takato and Terriermon both blinked at the self-styled Digimon Queen, surprised at what she had said. Henry chuckled and Rika smirked at the pair.

"Still the same old Rika."

Got that right. I can't be anyone else. So, Gogglehead," her violet eyes flashed mischievously as she looked at him, "where _are _we going?"

**…**

Yamaki took a sip from a coffee mug, his mouth basking in the taste of herbal tea—a luxury that he didn't often afford himself, but one that he was willing to allow on this one occasion. It had nothing to do with the holiday spirits, especially today, though the taste of the tea, he would admit, had its beginnings there.

_Things have been quiet lately,_ he thought, taking another sip from his cup. Distantly, he felt the weight of his lighter in his pocket, where it had remained for quite some time. He smiled slightly before berating himself for entertaining any thoughts that just because things were quiet that it meant that he should relax. Turning in his chair, he picked up a document and read it over.

_The latest upgrades to the Yuggoth Program have been successfully implemented._ Another sip._ Possible effectiveness against Champion level digimon is now projected to be sixty to seventy percent._

Another sip. It was a vast improvement over the original Yuggoth system, after what appeared to be an early success, had failed to eliminate a Champion level digimon—a Musyamon—and proved to be even less effective against higher level digimon.

_Fortunately when combined with a digimon, it proved to be a valuable weapon against the D-Reaper. I wonder if there's a connection…_

Yamaki brushed the thought aside for the time being. Thoughts of employing the Tamers were far away at the moment.

_And as long as the firewall continues to prevent other digimon from breaching into our world, that is how it will remain. We can only allow so many slips, and once is already too much._

Yamaki frowned. For once, he found himself hating that thought. After all, it was because of the Tamers that they were all still alive. The whole world owed them for their sacrifice. Why shouldn't they overlook just the one breach when it brought the world's heroes happiness that they had more than earned?

_As long as the firewall holds, they can continue to have their happiness. _Yamaki leaned back in his chair and took another sip from his tea. Picking up another document, he began to read it over. He scowled at the name scrawled on it._ Argus…_

The sound of his cell phone ringing broke him out of his train of thought. Flipping it open, he spoke brusquely into it.

"Yamaki."

_"Riley, sir,"_ spoke up the familiar, feminine voice on the other end._ "We have something that you think you need to see."_

"I'll be right up." With that, Yamaki hung up his phone and left his desk. Already he was having a bad feeling about this.

* * *

A/N: It feels admittedly odd to still be working on a Christmas piece even after the holiday is 'officially' over, and looking over my plans for this fic, it could very well go a ways into the month of January. Still, I'm having a bit of fun building up the storyline. I still intend to update 'Return of Shadows', hopefully once enough of the holiday madness is over and work (yes, I am working once again. Yippee. Money :D) gives me enough time I'll be able to take another crack at it. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, and I'll see you all next chapter.

-Crazyeight

* * *

9


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Tamers Requiem, book 0: Toys, Snowmen, and Digimon.

Chapter: 3

"All right," said Yamaki as he entered the main control room of Hypnos. "What's the situation?"

"It's a bit of an odd one, sir," replied a red-haired woman—Riley Ootori—from up in her chair as it swiveled around for her to view one of the many computer screens that filled the room. "We're detecting something that looks like activity in the shopping district of Shinjuku, but for some reason we can't properly identify it."

Yamaki frowned. "Pull up the data."

"Working," replied Tally, the blond-haired woman sitting behind Riley. Yamaki made his way over to the nearest computer screen on the floor level and activated it. Within seconds, he had the requested information brought up and he began looking it over. His scowl deepened.

"Are these bio-emergence signals?" he asked.

"That's what we were wondering at first," replied Riley. "But we noticed that there was something off about them. It's not a bio-emergence as near as we can tell, or if it is it's not one that we're familiar with."

"What is it then?"

"We're picking up unusual germination signals similar to what happened when Guilmon came into existence. There seems to be some manipulation of data that spilled over from the digital world when the Tamers' partners returned."

Yamaki frowned at that. That did not sound good at all. Apart from the fact that data was in the real world again, the fact that it could be manipulated was unsettling.

_If this gets out of hand, there's no way we'll be able to prevent the government from finding out that the Tamers' partners have returned. It's hard enough as it is. If there ends up being a fight…_

Yamaki paused in his thinking. After a moment of consideration, he pulled out his cell phone and began dialing.

**…**

Rika sighed mentally as she and her friends made their way through the crowd. She felt a bit bored, but more uncomfortable than anything else. She wondered why. It wasn't as though she weren't used to being out in public—she spent more than her fair share walking the streets as it was. She looked at the two Tamers, correction, her _friends_.

_Is this why I feel a bit uncomfortable?_ she wondered. It didn't seem possible. She had hung out with them a lot over the past few months. Albeit, it was more in the capacity as Tamers doing their jobs, and they had lost a bit of touch after their partners returned to the digital world, but even so, they _did_ hang out.

She scowled. No. That wasn't what was bothering her, and she knew it. Her gaze fell onto Takato and she shifted her hands inside her jacket's pockets. She felt some slight heat cross across her face and she immediately squashed the accompanying feelings of embarrassment that followed. Silently, she berated herself for the thoughts she had when Takato first called her, 'asking her out'. Terriermon had nearly given voice to what was on her mind when she saw the annoying rabbit-dog and Henry there with the boy.

_What was I thinking? That he and I were going out on a date? I must be going crazy._

She wanted to laugh at the idea, but Terriermon's barely finished comment prevented her from doing so. Instead, she shifted her hands in her pockets again, one hand clasping around an item she had hidden within. Her Christmas present to the goggle-wearing Tamer. Another disadvantage to Henry's being here was that she didn't have his present for him. No doubt he would understand, as Takato explained that he forgot to tell her he called Henry after calling her as a last minute thought, but she would still feel awkward giving Takato his present without giving one to Henry as well. Besides, the last thing she needed was for Terriermon to get the wrong idea, as he was prone to.

_How Henry puts up with him is beyond me,_ she thought. A small grin rose on her features and she returned her attention to the here and now. She would deal with the giving of presents later. For now, it was far better to enjoy the time she spent with her friends.

"Ohhh…man."

Rika raised an eyebrow at Takato's complaining tone as the boy drew to a halt. He looked around with a bit of a frantic look in his eyes, and Rika followed his swiveling eyes, curious as to what was wrong.

Terriermon chose not to follow her lead and, as always, gave voice to what was on his mind.

"All right, Takatomon. What's up? Did you get us lost?"

"Ahhh…" Takato scratched the side of his face nervously. "Well…"

Rika snorted, holding back a chuckle._ It wouldn't be the first time,_ she thought.

"The store should be around here," said Takato, looking around again. "I remember the landmarks. It's just…um…not…here."

"Stores don't grow feet and move you know," remarked Terriermon sarcastically. Rika sighed and shook her head.

_Not exactly how I thought this outing would go,_ she commiserated. _I could really have done without Terriermon constantly talking…_

"Come on, Takato," she said, shivering a little from the cold. "You said that there was a game store that we could check out. I don't suppose you happen to remember what it was called, do you? What buildings were around it?"

"Well, there was a ramen shop being run by a guy with the same name as Davis from Digimon right across from it…"

"You really are a geek, you know that Takato?" asked Terriermon.

"Terriermon…" Henry laughed and shook his head. "I know which Ramen shop you're talking about. My sister mentioned it to me a couple weeks ago and Mom brought some home as well." Henry frowned. "Only I don't remember hearing anything about a gaming store being around there."

"It's not like Jaarin is into that sort of thing you know," pointed out Terriermon. "I don't see why she would remember something like that."

"I don't see how a ramen shop is going to help us," grumbled Rika. "But I'd rather that we just find a place to get in out of this cold!"

"What's the matter?" laughed Terriermon. "Don't like the cold?"

Rika fixed the long-eared digimon with a fearsome glare. Henry sighed.

"Terriermon…"

"Sorry."

Takato looked at his friends with a doleful expression. So far, this outing was not going even remotely as well as he hoped it would. Time was ticking away, and with it the chance he had to find an appropriate Christmas present for Rika.

"It's gotta be around here somewhere," he began, taking another look around. "This can't be happening. I only saw it here last week when I was getting Kazu's gift…"

"Maybe we should look for it later," said Henry, giving his friend a reassuring smile. "Maybe you just got turned around."

"He's _always_ getting turned around," grumbled Rika, thrusting her hands deeper into her pockets. She glanced away as she said that, missing the hurt look that appeared on Takato's face. Before anyone could say anything else, Rika's cell phone went off. Blinking in surprise, she pulled it out and flipped it open. A moment later, she turned towards her friends. "Yamaki," she said to them. That caused them to raise their eyebrows.

"What's going on?" asked Takato.

"Maybe if you wait a moment, she'll tell ya," said Terriermon. "But I'll bet it's not to wish us Merry Christmas."

Rika turned away from them so that she could hear the man more clearly.

_"There's a disturbance going on in the shopping district of Shinjuku,"_ the man told her on the other end._ "We're sending in agents. I don't know if you or your partners have sensed anything, but I would like for you to avoid the area unless we can't contain the situation."_

Rika frowned._ Stay out of a fight?_ she thought. In her mind, she knew why Yamaki didn't want them getting involved right away, but in her heart, the idea of running from a fight didn't sit well with her. Not one bit.

_"Ms. Nonaka,"_ came Yamaki's stern voice. _"Did you hear me?"_

"Yeah," she said evenly. "If we see anything," she turned towards her friends, still frowning, "we'll be sure to let you know."

With that, she hung up.

"So what's going on?" asked Takato. Rika folded her arms over her chest.

"Yamaki says there's something going on around here."

"Around…here?" Takato looked around. "I don't see anything. What about you, Guilmon?"

"I don't smell anything either. Well…except for Impmon…"

"Impmon, huh?" asked Rika sardonically. "That raises a red flag."

"Come on, Rika," began Takato. "He hasn't caused any trouble since he came back."

"I'm just joking, Takato."

"What about you, Terriermon?" asked Henry, looking at his partner. The rabbit-dog shook his head.

"Everything's quiet around here. Not a creature is stirring. Not even a mouse."

"Oookay…"

Rika closed her eyes and sought out the connection between herself and Renamon. She found her immediately.

_"I have overheard everything, Rika,"_ replied the vulpine digimon from the shadows. _"Aside from Impmon, I haven't detected anything out of the ordinary."_

_ Are you sure?_

_ "Quite certain. Although…"_ A pause. _"There is a strange sound that I'm hearing. I thought it was just something involving the city, as it is full of noise, but for some reason I can hear it above everything else. It is a bit unusual."_

_ Can you tell where it is?_

_ "Not at present."_

Rika opened her eyes to see that Takato and Henry already had their digivices out and were scanning their surroundings.

"Renamon says she can't pick up anything except for some weird noise. What about you guys?"

"Um…" Takato's expression blanched. "I can't quite figure out how to work this thing. It's stuck on the 'set clock' function for some reason."

Rika resisted the urge to roll her eyes and turned towards Henry. Undoubtedly he would be a bit more helpful.

"I'm picking up something," he said, confirming her expectations. "But I can't tell for sure what it is. The signal's weird."

_"You're_ weird," joked Terriermon. "I don't suppose you could tell us something we don't know."

"This looks to be a bit different from what we're used to. It doesn't look like a digimon is trying to break through the barriers." Henry rubbed a hand on his chin thoughtfully. "Then again, Yamaki's firewall could be making it hard for the scanning function to work properly."

"Shouldn't we warn people?" asked Takato. "If there's going to be trouble here…"

"Without proof there's nothing we can do," replied Henry, shaking his head. "All we would do is cause unnecessary panic, and that would be bad. I think the best we can do for now is keep an eye out and make sure nothing bad happens."

A loud explosion resounded upon the air, causing all the Tamers to whirl about in its direction. Smoke billowed up into the air, fading into the darkness of the night sky.

"I think that's the clue we're looking for," said Rika, her eyes tracking the smoke. "Let's go!"

The fiery haired Tamer dashed off, her friends following close behind.

**…**

Beelzemon breathed heavily, smoke blinding his three eyes as he looked around, trying to find some sign of the toy-turned robot that was determined to gun him and everything else around him down. He hefted his Berenjena shotgun carefully, using his enhanced, Demon Lord senses to locate all the humans that were in the building. A fair number of them had managed to escape, but not all of them were quite so lucky, trapped either underneath an overturned toy rack or with the insane toy between them and the exit. And there was also the employee who had been, unwillingly, by his side since the toy changed. The elderly man was trembling violently, holding his head and lying down, hoping to not be spotted.

"Hey," he began, his eyes swinging from one end to the next as he searched for his foe. "I enjoy a good fight as much as the next guy, but this isn't the right time for the season of giving."

The ground shook as something heavy struck it. A dark figure swept into view, obscured by the smoke, but Beelzemon didn't need to actually see it to know what it was. His Berenjena gun was up and already blasting at the shadowy figure. The sounds of bullets ricocheting filled the air, and Beelzemon bit back a cry of pain and surprise as one of his rounds found its way to his left arm. He clamped one claw around the wound and grimaced.

_Claws aren't cutting it, and my guns aren't doing anything either. What the heck is going on here?_

The figure stomped relentlessly towards him. The smoke cleared, revealing the massive tank-turned-robot in all of its unscratched glory. Beelzemon took a step back, gauging the situation. He was starting to run out of options.

_There's not enough room in here to maneuver if I go Blast Mode,_ he thought. _And the small quarters are cramping my style anyway._

He debated for a moment whether or not it was a good idea to take the fight outside where so many civilians were located. He had witnessed the toy's immensely destructive power.

_Letting something like that out onto the streets isn't going to do anyone any good. _Beelzemon narrowed his eyes and holstered his shotgun. The continued approach of the monster more than made up his mind. _Even if this place crashes, I can't let it step outside._

"Hey. Buddy." Beelzemon glanced down at the employee. "You've gotta get movin' and get everyone out of here. I'll do what I can, but…"

"I…I can't," the man whimpered. Beelzemon grimaced. Before he could say anything else though, his third eye twitched. Ducking into a roll, he grabbed the man and narrowly escaped a series of scorching lasers as they ripped through the flooring.

_This is _really_ cramping my style!_

Beelzemon threw himself backwards, trying to escape the robot's onslaught. As he did so, he reached deep inside of himself and drew up the mental image of his two partners, Ai and Mako. A familiar surge of power coursed through his body. Black wings sprung from his back and he raised his right arm, taking aim at the toy. Violet light surrounded his forearm and a massive cannon sprang into existence.

"All right, buddy!" he shouted, holding the old man close as power churned in the mouth of his weapon. "Chow down on this! **Corona Blaster!"**

At his cry, the cannon let loose a powerful blast of energy that surged outwards, smashing into robot. The sound of metal exploding shrieked through the air. Beelzemon righted himself and spun around, shielding the old man from the shrapnel that was already flying. He grunted as some hot pieces of metal stabbed into his body, but his digital body was quick to repair the damage inflicted upon him.

Quiet fell over the store. Beelzemon carefully put the old man down and turned. Nothing but smoke greeted his vision, and he coughed slightly.

_Did I get it?_ He hefted his cannon and narrowed his eyes. He couldn't hear anything but the sound of small fragments hitting the ground.

Something shifted within the smoke.

_No… No way…_

As the black clouds cleared, a battered, half-destroyed robot limped forward, sparkling data floating away from its body. It struggled to move itself towards Beelzemon, and sparks flew from its cannon as it attempted to power it up. After a heavy moment, the robot fell apart completely and crashed to the ground, its body shattering into tiny sparkling shards, leaving only a dented and cracked toy gun behind. Beelzemon breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his weapon.

_Who woulda thought that a toy would be so tough?_ he thought, walking over to the defeated object and picking it up. _Then again, my Blast Mode came out of Mako's toy and that packs quite a punch._

He pondered the thought for a moment before the sound of footsteps approaching caught his attention. Turning, he saw the three Tamers, Takato, Rika, and Henry, with Guilmon and Terriermon along for the ride. Of Renamon he saw no sign of, but his senses told him that she was out of sight.

Beelzemon smirked.

"Took you guys long enough to get here." He glanced over at Guilmon and Terriermon. "What's with the getup?"

"Hah?" Guilmo tilted his head to one side in confusion.

"The outfit, Pineapple Head. How come you're wearing all that winter stuff?" He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward to peer more closely. "Are those mittens?"

"Ah…" Takato coughed, embarrassed. "So…uh…what happened, Beelzemon?"

"Yeah. This isn't how you're supposed to go about Christmas shopping you know," chided Terriermon as Henry stepped forward, surveying the damage. "What were you doing? Robbing the place?"

Beelzemon glowered at the rabbit-dog digimon, looking offended.

"Just some random bug that decided to give me a piece of its mind," he growled. "It couldn't take my side of the argument."

"Right," grunted Rika. "So what was it?"

"Um…actually, before we do anything else, shouldn't we be getting out of here? I'm sure the police will be here any second…"

"Right, right." A glow surrounded Beelzemon's body and he shrunk down to his smaller of Impmon. Snatching up the battered toy dug into his scarf and dropped a wad of yen on the ground. "Keep the change."

"Uh, Impmon?" began Terriermon, raising an eyebrow. "That toy…"

"I _know_ what's wrong with it!" he snapped. "You wanna make something of it, rabbit stew?"

"I'm just saying…"

"Like I care?" Impmon crossed his arms. "Look guys. Are we gonna get goin' or are we gonna stand around flapping our gums all day? Better yet, why am I just standing around listening to you? We've gotta get outta here! Ba-boom!" With that, Impmon propelled himself into the air, escaping through a hole in the ceiling.

Rika sighed, watching him go.

_Renamon. Stay with him._

_ "As you wish,"_ the vulpine replied through their link. Rika felt her partner's presence recede and she turned towards her friends.

"We'd better get a move on. I'm willing to bet Yamaki's going to want to call us in for this one, and he might not like it if his soldiers find us here."

Takato, Henry, Guilmon and Terriermon all nodded, and with that the group took off at a run towards the broken down door that they came in.

**…**

Impmon bounced from rooftop to rooftop, his emerald eyes scowling. After a moment, he landed and paused.

"Okay, Fox Face. You wanna come out?"

A golden furred fox-like digimon materialized out of thin air a short distance behind the diminutive digimon, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Is something the matter?"

"I just thought I'd warn ya when we get down to Hypnos. My story may sound a little funny."

"Very well," she replied. "Is there anything that you feel won't be believed right away?"

"Just this." He raised the toy gun that he took from the store. Renamon raised an eyebrow questioningly. Impmon smirked, but it held very little in the way of mirth. "Told ya it would sound weird. I'll give the full story when we get to Hypnos. Ba-boom!"

Renamon watched Impmon rocket back into the sky, tilting one ear before vanishing in pursuit.

**…**

"A…toy attacked you." Yamaki did not sound as though he believed the story that he had just heard. Frankly, Impmon, who was sitting atop the meeting table, was not surprised. Although he expected better from this bunch, Tamers and government agents both, all who dealt with digimon on a regular basis, the very idea of toys _evolving_ and causing some serious destruction was not something one encountered in their line of work.

"Yeah," said Impmon, hefting the toy gun in one gloved hand. "This gun. It turned into some kinda robot. Took me a while to take it down too. I had to go to my Blast Mode just to do anything against it. I might as well have been shooting spit wads at it and fighting with plastic butter knives up until then. The toy store on the other hand…"

Impmon let his silence speak for him. The fact that a mere toy had proven to be not only resilient to his attacks at the Mega level, but also had the capability of standing up to a Mega was rather worrying.

"That sounds ridiculous."

"Rika," began Henry. "Don't you think that we should at least consider what he's said before disregarding it?"

"I don't know," said Terriermon. "Impmon always likes to tell tall tales you know…"

"What about the security cameras?" asked Takato, raising a hand. Terriermon looked at him baffled.

"You know…sometimes you surprise me Takatomon…"

"Thanks… I think."

Yamaki ignored the bantering of the Tamers and turned towards Janyu. He had regretted calling the man away from his home, especially since he had been in the middle of packing, but most of the Monster Makers were either visiting family or otherwise out and occupied. As yet, Shibumi had pulled another disappearance and was untraceable. The only other Monster Makers presently available were Babel and Curley, though the former wasn't likely to stay around for much longer due to the need to visit family.

Yamaki's hand twitched, reflexively trying to flick open a lighter that wasn't there.

_I hope this isn't going to be anything we can't handle. Everyone has earned a break, and I'd rather not force anyone to stay if they don't have to._

He mentally shook the thought from his mind. The here and now was all that mattered. He would cross any bridges once he got to them and no sooner.

"What do you think, Janyu?" he asked. "Is there anything we can get out of what Impmon has told us?"

Janyu rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It _is_ possible, after a fashion. After all, digimon were originally just an artificial intelligence program that eventually was turned into something for children to play with."

"Pretty powerful toys to give to kids," said Impmon pointedly. "Batteries included and everything. Correction: the kid _is_ the battery. Should I point out that I had a gun just like this when the D-Reaper was mopping the floor with everyone? It gave me the strength I needed to not only digivolve, but also go into my Blast Mode too."

"Do you still have the toy?" asked Janyu. Impmon shook his head.

"D-Reaper destroyed it while I was trying to save Jeri. I still have the blaster I turned it into, but the toy is gone." Impmon's face fell, but he was quick to pick it back up, framing the confident look that he nearly always wore. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, I can turn a fake gun into a _real_ gun that can blow up buildings and level city blocks. Why couldn't the same thing happen to different toys? Didn't you just get done sayin' that we're playthings?"

"Easy there, Impmon," replied Janyu, raising a hand. "Bear in mind that we don't have much data to go on about this."

"I'll provide you with all the necessary files," said Yamaki. Janyu nodded.

"Then if that's everything…"

"It is for now. However I would like to have a word with the Tamers." He turned towards the children and their respective partners. "I don't think that I need to remind you how important it is that you all keep a low profile." He turned his gaze towards Impmon, but as yet did not focus his words on them. "However it is unrealistic to assume that you'll always be able to do so. I'm afraid that with the present situation, you'll need to resume your duties and be prepared to defend yourselves and the city should something happen. However, I suggest that you allow us to look into this, determine what we can about it, and work to handle it before moving in yourselves."

"Sure," said Takato, bobbing his head up and down while Henry nodded. A reluctant nod. Rika, for her part, sat in her chair with her arms over her chest, frowning. Impmon appeared to share the same attitude as the Digimon Queen, only he was more vocal about it.

"And how do you suppose we know whether or not you can't handle it? When toys are doin' more than marchin' down the toy aisle and shooting up the city?"

Yamaki stared at Impmon impassively before returning his attention to the Tamers. "I'll see what arrangements can be made, but as none of you are a part of Hypnos, what I can do is limited. For now, I can only advise that you use your best judgment in whatever situation you find yourselves in. The government is still wary of the digital world, and they aren't likely to take too well to finding out that there are still some digimon living among us."

"What're they going to do?" asked Impmon. "Send us back?"

Yamaki looked back at Impmon with a hard gaze. "If they feel that's what it takes." He looked out over everyone, seeing the half-hidden frustration in Rika's eyes, and the worry in just about everyone else's. "We'll be in touch. Dismissed."

**…**

"Who does he think he is?" growled Rika as she and her friends exited the Hypnos building. She crammed her hands into her pockets, barely concealing her anger towards the Head of Hypnos.

"A guy in charge of a powerful organization that's dedicated to the same job we do?" asked Terriermon. Rika rolled her eyes.

"It was a rhetorical question, Terriermon. Now why don't you zip that mouth of yours up? I'm not in the mood for your jokes right now."

"Tidings of comfort and joy to you too," muttered Terriermon, settling down on Henry's head. Takato looked at his friends with concern.

"Things'll be okay, guys," he said. His voice shook a little on the last word though, and he wanted to kick himself for the lack of confidence. A pall of silence fell among them. The Christmas cheer that had been with them earlier had vanished. Everything had gone wrong. He needed to fix the situation, and fast. "Um…" Takato wracked his brains for something—_anything—_that could help him. "Oh! W-Why don't we go out to eat or something? I think there's a fast food restaurant near here…"

He looked back and forth between his friends. The somber mood had deepened instead of lightened.

"Sorry, Takato," began Rika. "I'm not in the mood anymore."

"But…but Rika…" Takato felt a wave of stubbornness blossom within him. Why did she always have to take off to be by herself at the first bit of bad news that upset her? First when IceDevimon had frightened her, when she met Ryo in the digital world, and again when Henry pitched them the idea of sending messages to their partners that might or might not ever reach them.

Rika however, shot down his stubbornness before it could rear its head.

"I'll catch you guys later," she waved, heading off down the streets in the opposite direction. "Good seeing you again, Henry. If you don't stick around, I hope you have a Merry Christmas."

"Same to you," nodded Henry. Takato's shoulders sagged heavily, feeling as though his spirits were crushed. Guilmon looked up at Takato with a worried look and rubbed up against him.

"Don't be sad, Takato. I don't like it when you're sad."

"Yeah, Takatomon," chimed in Terriermon, hopping onto the boy's head, mussing up his hair in the process. "Momentai. Rika'll be okay. Right Henry?"

Henry smiled and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Don't worry. Terriermon and I will keep you and Guilmon company."

Takato offered his friends a weak smile. "Thanks guys."

**…**

Shadows filled the room, broken only by light emanating from an orb sitting within a tree-like mesh. A clawed hand rose over it and the light swam inside the orb, forming an image. There followed a series of broken hisses that sounded eerily like laughter.

_"Yes-s-s-s…"_ the owner of the hand whispered, withdrawing the appendage. _"My spell worked perfectly. This world is ripe for my plans. My rival cannot ignore what is going on. Soon…so very soon I will have him within my grasp, and then I will end the never-ending struggle. The sun will not rise again."_

The hand disappeared and the light emanating from the orb winked out, leaving the shadows victorious.

* * *

A/N: A new update to a story that is now…a bit out of season. But it shall continue until it is finished. This chapter sees the conclusion to Beelzemon's fight with the toy and the introduction of the villain of the piece, though he is not quite yet revealed. Heheh.

Hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter, and I'll see you next time.

-Crazyeight

* * *

9


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